Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether ambulance response times have increased in Angus since the withdrawal of acute services from Stracathro Hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: There has been a marginal increase in the average length of time the emergency service has been taking to respond to 999 emergency calls. But in the Angus area, the service is still exceeding the national target that is designed to provide for 50% of emergency calls receiving a response within eight minutes. The service is currently achieving 52.3% in Angus. This may be seen against the background of a 28% increase in the numbers of patients seen.

Ambulance Service

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes there have been to the provision of ambulance services for Angus since the withdrawal of acute services from Stracathro Hospital.

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the provision of ambulance services in Angus.

Malcolm Chisholm: An additional seven front line emergency ambulance staff are now operational in the Angus area and there are another two vacancies waiting to be filled. All the ambulance stations in the area are now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A paramedic-led thrombolytic service has been introduced to reduce the "pain to needle" time for cardiac patients who require thrombolysis. There are also plans to introduce some dedicated "GPs' urgent" resources in the near future.

Ambulance Service

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of patients in Angus requiring ambulance transfers within one or two hours are not transported within this timeframe.

Malcolm Chisholm: There has been an improvement in the performance in response to GPs' urgent calls. These calls mostly concern the admission of patients to hospital following a doctor's home visit. Here the service aim to transfer 95% of such requests to hospital within 15 minutes of the time agreed with the doctor, which might typically be two or three hours from the time the request is made. In Angus the service is currently transferring 90.7% of such cases to hospital within 15 minutes - an improvement of 2% on the previous reporting period.

Arts

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a list of works of art from the national collections currently on loan both within and outwith Scotland.

Dr Elaine Murray: The information requested is not held centrally.

Charity Law

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reconsider its decision in respect of introducing legislation to reform charity law before the next Scottish parliamentary elections.

Dr Richard Simpson: No. Our plans remain as set out in the answer to question S1W-21447 on 21 January 2002.

Children's Hearings

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in order to deal with any delays in processing children's hearings caused during school holidays by the requirement for reports from educational professionals.

Cathy Jamieson: The Association of Directors of Education Scotland has been encouraging education authorities to develop individual protocols with SCRA. SCRA is liasing with authorities to minimise delays during the school holidays and will monitor the provision of reports over the forthcoming summer holiday period.

Cities

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22122 by Iain Gray on 4 February 2002, when it will publish the report of the findings of the Review of Cities.

Iain Gray: The Cities Review Team aim to conclude their review by the end of May. Their report will then be submitted to Scottish ministers for consideration and the findings will be published thereafter.

Dentists

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in encouraging dentists to join practices in rural areas.

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure better access to dental care in the Highlands.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: On 25 April, I announced a £1 million "Golden Hello" package as part of a phased programme to improve recruitment and retention of NHS dentists and help ensure that patients are able to access NHS dental treatment. Key features will include:

  funding for a vocational training place for all new dental graduates;

  a £3,000 allowance to each new dental graduate taking a training place in eight designated areas, including Highland, where access to NHS dentistry is outstripped by patient demand;

  grants of up to £10,000, based on the amount of NHS work, to dentists establishing new vocational training practices and offering a training place, and

  a £5,000 allowance over two years to dentists who have completed training and are entering substantive NHS practice or £10,000 over the same period where the post will be in one of the designated areas.

Employment

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22351 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 8 February 2002, what the net change in the number of employee jobs in Glasgow Kelvin has been since May 1999.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The number of employee jobs is available from the Annual Business Inquiry and the net change in the number of employee jobs is available. The latest available data are for 2000.

  



Net change in the Number of Employee Jobs
1999-2000




Glasgow Kelvin


15,033

Enterprise

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance it has given to the Big Idea in Stevenston in each year since 1999.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23995 on 3 April 2002. The Executive has provided no other funding. Enterprise Ayrshire did however contribute £500,000 towards the initial funding package.

Finance

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet representatives of COSLA to discuss its submission to the 2002 Spending Review.

Mr Andy Kerr: I will meet with COSLA in the next few weeks to discuss its Spending Review submission. Other ministers are also arranging meetings with COSLA to discuss their portfolio interests.

Fire Service

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which coastal fire brigades have crews and resources trained to deal with vessels on fire at sea and other emergencies offshore.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Maritime Coastguard Agency confirm that only one Scottish Fire Brigade - Highland and Islands - has a declared resource to firefight offshore. The agency would, however, ask each brigade if they could assist should an incident occur in their brigade area.

  There are a range of complex issues surrounding the ability of fire brigades to fight fires at sea and these have been examined by HM Fire Service Inspectorate. The issues will also be considered as we take forward the recommendations contained in the Policy Paper The Scottish Fire Service of the Future, which was published on 29 April.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the delay in the publication of the EU's reform proposals for the Common Fisheries Policy.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is disappointed that the European Commission proposals on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy have so far failed to emerge. We are keen to begin negotiations. However, the Commission is responsible for handling its own work programme and we must wait for them to complete their internal deliberations.

Football

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage a greater role for football supporters in the clubs that they support.

Mike Watson: We have made arrangements to enable Supporters Direct to extend its service to Scotland through the employment of a caseworker based in Scotland. Funding of £75,000 a year for two years from 1 April 2002 is being provided from the Scottish share of funding from the major football pools companies.

Gaelic

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Executive has any plans to abolish Standard Grade and Higher Gaelic in schools.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive has no plans to abolish National Qualifications in Gaelic.

Genealogy

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to develop monitoring mechanisms for the tourism niche market of genealogy.

Mike Watson: This is an operational matter for VisitScotland. VisitScotland currently track the numbers of visitors to their genealogy website:

  www.ancestralscotland.com.

  They intend to further develop the interactive communication on the site as this will help to monitor consumer profiles and travel plans. VisitScotland will also shortly be recruiting a Genealogy Promotions Manager who will be responsible for developing and monitoring this niche market.

General Practitioners

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GPs have been recruited in (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) Scotland since the introduction of "Golden Hello" packages for new GPs.

Malcolm Chisholm: Provisional data from the GP payments system indicate that two GPs in Argyll and Bute and 50 GPs in Scotland as a whole have received a "Golden Hello" payment.

Health

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in discussions with NHS boards and local authorities on delayed discharge.

Malcolm Chisholm: Ministers met with local authority leaders and NHS chairs on 30 April to discuss progress and ministers will meet with individual partnerships in the coming period. Partnerships must submit local joint action plans for evaluation, prior to release of further funding, and these plans will provide the framework for achieving our targets for substantial reductions in delayed discharge.

Health Promotion

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is encouraging to increase people's fitness.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Physical Activity Task Force is producing a draft strategy, which will be issued for consultation in June 2002. It will include recommendations for increasing physical activity amongst the whole of the Scottish population.

  National and local bodies including the Health Education Board for Scotland, sportscotland and NHS board health promotion departments and local authorities are also involved in promoting physical activity.

Hospitals

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-13080 and S1W-19055 by Susan Deacon on 17 April 2001 and 23 November 2001 respectively, what progress has been made to achieve the target of ending mixed sex hospital wards by April 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: Very substantial progress has been made towards achieving the target of ending mixed sex hospital wards. At present, of the 1,629 wards in Scotland, 1,559 are fully compliant. This represents 96% compliance and 4% non-compliance. Of the 70 non-compliant wards, 22 will be fully compliant by May 2002, bringing the total to 97%. We shall ensure that the rest are compliant in the shortest possible time. In the meantime, trusts have also been required to agree with their local health council a local policy to ensure that the dignity and privacy of patients is respected at all times in non-compliant wards.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20526 by Iain Gray on 28 January 2002, what progress has been made on the implementation of Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Iain Gray: With the advice of the working group I referred to in my previous answer, we have prepared a consultation paper on the implementation of Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, which was published on 22 March this year and seeks responses by 14 June. Depending on the outcome of the consultations and any further work that may generate, we hope to implement the provisions in Part 6 as a single package in the late autumn of this year.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment was made of each local authority grant aided expenditure requirements for roads maintenance in each year since 1995-96.

Peter Peacock: Details of the grant aided expenditure assessments for each local authority for the years 1995-96 to 2001-02 are set out in Grant Aided Expenditure (the Green Book ) for each year, which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre with Bib. numbers as follows:

  


Year


Bib. number




1995-96


8453




1996-97


8454




1997-98


8455




1998-99


8140




1999-2000


3274




2000-01


7912




2001-02


12261

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision it made for non-wage related inflationary cost elements in the 2002-03 local government finance settlement and what provision it intends to make for this in (a) 2003-04 and (b) 2004-05.

Peter Peacock: Allowance is included with the local government settlement totals for 2002-03 and 2003-04 towards general local authority pay and price inflation, but the inflation element is not identified separately. Allocations for 2004-05 have not yet been set.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the need for capital investment in the infrastructure for which local authorities are responsible.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for local authorities to assess the need for investment in the local infrastructure. The Executive allocates resources available for local authority capital investment on the basis of a formula that measures the relative need for investment in schools, roads etc.

  The Single Allocations are increasing by 40% over the current Spending Review period.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the funding each local authority will require to pay from revenue budgets to fund Public/Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes in the current financial year.

Mr Andy Kerr: The estimated payments under PFI contracts for local authority signed deals is £113.2 million for the current financial year, which represents 1.5% of the total expenditure provided to local authorities in 2001-02 from the Scottish Executive.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assumption it made of the efficiency savings each local authority will make, expressed as a percentage of their total budget, when calculating their grant aided expenditure allocations for (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05.

Peter Peacock: No specific assumption is made for efficiency savings within the settlement calculations.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total capital allocations made to each local authority is in the current financial year and what the allocations will be in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06.

Mr Andy Kerr: The total non-housing allocations awarded to each authority to date for the current year and 2003-04 are given in the following table. No capital allocations have been made beyond 2003-04.

  Housing allocations are determined on an annual basis. Allocations for 2002-03 are set out in the tables.

  


Total Non-Housing Capital Allocations* (£000)




Council


2002-03


2003-04




Aberdeen City


11,753


11,618




Aberdeenshire


10,891


12,149




Angus


6,845


7,713




Argyll and Bute


16,491


14,956




Clackmannanshire


3,564


3,937




Dumfries and Galloway


12,771


12,693




Dundee City


10,907


11,304




East Ayrshire


7,793


8,543




East Dunbartonshire


10,256


6,581




East Lothian


6,050


6,279




East Renfrewshire


5,306


5,901




Edinburgh City


26,456


31,387




Eilean Siar


13,848


13,371




Falkirk


8,975


9,824




Fife


20,752


21,604




Glasgow City


41,611


44,485




Highland


21,926


24,459




Inverclyde


9,101


9,936




Midlothian


6,170


6,214




Moray


5,450


6,048




North Ayrshire


9,695


10,651




North Lanarkshire


16,460


17,852




Orkney Islands


5,523


5,984




Perth and Kinross


10,096


11,666




Renfrewshire


11,617


11,150




Scottish Borders


9,292


10,428




Shetland


0


0




South Ayrshire


7,695


7,610




South Lanarkshire


16,999


18,587




Stirling


8,466


7,442




West Dunbartonshire


5,621


6,588




West Lothian


9,835


10,325




SPTA


10,699


11,823




Tay Road Bridge Joint Board


2,307


2,255




Scotland


381,221


401,363




  Note:

  *Table excludes allocations for Air Quality Monitoring, Flood prevention (part), Public Transport Fund (2003-04 round), Piers and Harbours and Contaminated Land (2003-04).

  


HRA Housing
2002-03
(Council)


Allocations
(£000)




Aberdeen City


5,293




Aberdeenshire


4,495




Angus


1,536




Argyll and Bute


1,607




Clackmannanshire


1,597




Dumfries and Galloway


2,1251




Dundee City


8,436




East Ayrshire


3,489




East Dunbartonshire


2,388




East Lothian


2,510




East Renfrewshire


964




Edinburgh City


14,916




Eilean Siar


1,701




Falkirk


5,369




Fife


7,007




Glasgow City


22,0001




Highland


7,230




Inverclyde


3,965




Midlothian


2,122




Moray


1,848




North Ayrshire


2,953




North Lanarkshire


1,2330




Orkney Islands


2,24




Perth and Kinross


2,108




Renfrewshire


8,565




Scottish Borders


4001




Shetland


1,0001




South Ayrshire


2,906




South Lanarkshire


5,858




Stirling


3,048




West Dunbartonshire


5,657




West Lothian


2,097




Scotland


147,744




  Note:

  1. Reduced allocations due to expected housing stock transfer during 2002-03 (subject to tenant ballot). Supplementary allocations will be made available later in the year, to cover the period to the actual date of transfer.

Local Government Finance

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what challenge funding has been made available to each local authority in the current financial year and what funding was allocated in each of the past five years.

Mr Andy Kerr: The main challenge funds in the past five years have been the Central Challenge Fund, the Transport Challenge Fund and the Public Transport Fund. Level Playing Field Support for Public/Private Partnership projects was also awarded on a competitive basis. Information on these awards is given in the following tables.

  Central Challenge Fund Awards 1997-2002

  


Council


1997-98
(£000)


1998-99
(£000)


1999-2000
(£000)


2000-01
(£000)


2001-02
(£000)




Angus/Aberdeenshire


3,000


2,400


1,000


0


0




Angus


1,500


622


50


0


0




Clackmannanshire


0


310


210


0


0




Dumfries and Galloway


700


1,175


0


0


0




East Ayrshire


1,400


1,050


0


0


0




East Dunbartonshire


185


0


0


0


0




East Renfrewshire


300


200


0


0


0




Edinburgh City


4,000


1,500


1,500


0


0




Eilean Siar


800


1,200


1,200


0


0




Glasgow City


400


1,250


2,650


400


0




Moray


100


700


200


0


0




North Lanarkshire


500


1,000


2,300


0


0




Perth and Kinross


0


3,700


5,300


5,300


4,000




South Ayrshire


375


503


0


0


0




West Dunbartonshire


127


173


158


0


0




West Lothian


1,646


1,898


1,888


0


0




Scotland


15,033


17,681


16,456


5,700


4,000




  Note:

  The table does not take account of subsequent re-profiling of awards.

  Transport Challenge Fund/Public Transport Fund Awards 1997-2002

  


Council


1997-98
Transport Challenge Fund
(£000)


1998-99
Transport Challenge Fund
(£000)


1999-2000
Public Transport Fund
(£000)


2000-01
Public Transport Fund
(£000)


2001-02
Public Transport Fund
(£000)




Aberdeen City


0


2,400


3,900


2,800


2,500




Aberdeenshire


0


0


300


960


851




Angus


1,000


1,000


0


0


0




Argyll and Bute


3,000


3,000


0


3,000


1,750




Clackmannanshire


0


0


300


0


2,780




Dumfries and Galloway


0


0


400


320


2,008




Dundee


0


0


475


250


835




East Ayrshire


0


0


0


590


420




East Dunbartonshire


0


0


0


0


150




East Lothian


0


0


75


370


436




East Renfrewshire


0


1,500


1,000


467


450




Edinburgh City


4,000


7,200


4,250


5,050


7,982




Eilean Siar


0


0


900


2,000


1,200




Falkirk


0


500


2,730


365


1,700




Fife


0


900


1,800


250


3,493




Glasgow City


0


0


1,300


3,200


4,220




Highland


3,000


3,000


265


0


1,727




Inverclyde


0


0


0


0


100




Midlothian


0


1,000


700


1,302


300




North Ayrshire


0


0


0


0


250




North Lanarkshire


0


0


0


1,260


0




Orkney Islands


0


0


0


323


600




Perth and Kinross


0


0


0


423


1,175




Renfrewshire


0


0


0


650


268




Scottish Borders


4,000


2,500


0


0


975




South Ayrshire


0


0


0


750


1,850




South Lanarkshire


0


500


1,150


850


303




SPTA


0


800


6,200


2,900


450




Stirling


0


1,200


2,800


150


297




West Dunbartonshire


0


0


750


300


250




West Lothian


0


0


270


0


220




Scotland


15,000


24,300


25,745


28,530


39,540




  Note:

  The table does not take account of subsequent re-profiling of awards.

  Local Authority PPP Projects

  


Council


Capital Value
(£000)


Level Playing Field Support
Start Date




Aberdeenshire


14,250


2002




Argyll and Bute


21,700


2001




Dundee


43,000


1999




East Renfrewshire


12,500


2001




Edinburgh


80,000


2003*




Falkirk


65,000


2000




Fife


32,000


2002*




Glasgow


225,000


2001




Highland


13,000


1999




Highland


17,000


2002*




Midlothian


33,000


2003*




Moray


5,600


1999




Perth and Kinross


15,000


2001




Stirling


16,500


2001




West Lothian


27,800


2002*




Strathclyde Police


17,000


2001*




Councils with a Conditional Offer of Support1




Angus


38,000


2004*




Dumfries and Galloway


17,500


2002*




East Renfrewshire


46,000


2005*




Scotland


116,474





  Notes:

  *Anticipated start date.

  1. Offer of support subject to project meeting LPFS criteria.

Maritime Safety

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fires have occurred on vessels within 12 miles of the Scottish coastline in the last three years and whether any such incidents involved requests for assistance from coastal fire brigades.

Dr Richard Simpson: Fires at sea are a maritime safety issue, which is reserved. Commercially operating vessels are required to report accidents to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) if they are UK registered or carrying passengers to or from a UK port. The statistical information shown in the following table has been obtained from the MAIB and relates to a category of accident entitled "Fires/Explosions". The MAIB records indicate that there were no reports of assistance from coastal fire brigades in Scotland for any of the incidents recorded in the table. Information about recreational vessels e.g. yachts is being obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and I will write to the member and place a copy in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

  


Year


Commercial Vessels




1999


9




2000


7




2001


6

Museums

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23859 by Dr Elaine Murray on 20 March 2002, whether the increase in funding to the Scottish Museums Council represents new monies or monies from previously announced support for museums, such as those monies announced as part of the National Cultural Strategy.

Dr Elaine Murray: The Scottish Executive awarded an increase in funding to the Scottish Museums Council in March 2001. Grant in aid to Scottish Museums Council has increased from £0.941 million in 2000-01 to £1.041 million in 2001-02, £1.191 million in 2002-03 and £1.441 million in 2003-04.

Museums

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance it has given to the Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine since 1999.

Dr Elaine Murray: Grants made by the Scottish Executive to the Scottish Maritime Museum since 1999 are set out as follows:

  


1999-2000


£15,000




2000-01


£20,000




£70,000




2001-02


£160,000




£110,000




2002-03


£160,000

Museums

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it has to ensure that no existing industrial museum with a national designation from the Scottish Museums Council is allowed to either cease trading or shed the majority of its staff.

Dr Elaine Murray: The Scottish Executive has responsibility for the National Museums and Galleries of Scotland whereas the responsibility for the non-national museums, including industrial museums, lies with local agencies and those who set up and operate them.

  The Scottish Executive is providing £420,000 per annum over three years to support three industrial museums: the Scottish Maritime Museum, the Scottish Mining Museum and the Scottish Fisheries Museum.

  Matters affecting trading and staffing at industrial museums are the responsibility of the trusts which run the industrial museums.

Museums

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what requests for assistance it has received from industrial museums in the last 18 months and what its response has been.

Dr Elaine Murray: The Scottish Executive has received a number of requests for funding from industrial museums in the last 18 months.

  In December 2000, the Executive announced a funding package of £1.26 million over three years towards the running costs of the Scottish Fisheries Museum, the Scottish Maritime Museum and the Scottish Mining Museum. In December 2001 the Executive awarded a further £110,000 to the Scottish Maritime Museum.

National Health Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all clinical procedures are rigorously tested before widespread application in the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: As we made clear in our response to the final report of the Bristol Inquiry, patient safety and the quality of clinical care are paramount within NHSScotland.

  To achieve that general aim, a variety of safeguards are in place. In relation to medicines, it is the responsibility of the Medicines Control Agency to ensure that all medicines on the UK market meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy. Clinical trials may also be used to assess the effectiveness of new treatments or technologies, such as new ways of carrying out operative procedures or new radiotherapy regimens. Prior to the start of NHS clinical trials, they should be appraised by the appropriate NHS research ethics committee.

  In relation to new interventional procedures, such as surgery and interventional cardiological and radiological examinations and treatments, the former Safety and Efficacy Register for New Interventional Procedures was taken over by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence with effect from 1 April this year. This is a UK initiative which will continue to apply to the introduction of new interventional procedures in NHSScotland.

  Highly specialised services are introduced only when the Executive has been assured by the National Services Advisory Group that this can be done without compromising patient safety.

  The safety and effectiveness of medical devices is the responsibility of the Medical Devices Agency, which operates on a UK basis.

Nursing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-23296 by Hugh Henry on 20 March 2002, whether there are adequate numbers of primary care nurses working in the field of coronary heart disease and, if not, what action is being taken to rectify this.

Hugh Henry: As was made clear in my reply to the question S1W-23296, decisions regarding staffing levels for primary care nurses and the need for any specialist posts in the field of coronary heart disease are the responsibility for NHS boards. Information on the need for posts and how this is addressed is not held centrally. There is no specific guidance on appropriate staffing levels in relation to the provision of service in this area.

Public Transport

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that public transport accessibility is taken into account in the planning application process.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive's guidance to planning authorities contained in National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 17, Transport and Planning , places particular emphasis on accessibility to new development by public transport.

Public/Private Partnerships

Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines it has issued to local authorities about assessing the impact on social exclusion policy of proposed Public/Private Partnerships to build and run schools.

Nicol Stephen: Social inclusion policy should be an important aspect of the consideration which local authorities give to the education service they provide. Social inclusion issues are relevant to all schools. Local authorities should therefore have regard to these issues in considering the specification of their requirements in any school Public/Private Partnership proposal. The responsibility for the provision of education in a school lies with the education authorities - whether or not the school is included in a Public/Private Partnership. For these reasons, no specific guidelines are issued by the Scottish Executive in relation to assessing the impact on social exclusion policy of proposed Public/Private Partnerships.

Road Safety

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in improving road safety on the A84 and the A85.

Lewis Macdonald: The following works are being progressed on the A84/A85:

  The Traffic Regulation Order promoting a 30 mph speed limit on the A85 through Lochearnhead will be published shortly and providing there are no objections the new speed limit should come into force in early September 2002. The village gateway signing and countdown markers will be erected at the same time as the new speed limit.

  The Lochearnhead footway has been designed. Construction will commence once the necessary land has been acquired.

  Improvements to the A84/A85 junction at Lochearnhead are programmed for completion by October 2002.

  A scheme for the provision of street lighting at Lochearnhead has been prepared and will be implemented, subject to competing priorities and the availability of funding. Improvements to the street lighting in Callander are also being considered.

  Three minor improvement schemes in Glen Ogle are being prepared and will be implemented subject to competing priorities and the availability of funding.

  Verge safety fences are being upgraded both on the A84 and A85.

  Alterations to the pelican crossing in Callander are expected to be completed by the end of May 2002.

  Operation of the traffic lights in Callander is being monitored closely so the phasing of the lights can be adjusted to provide optimum performance.

  Carriageway warning signs will be erected at Glen Ogle by the end of May 2002.

  Strathyre village gateway signs are programmed to be completed before the start of the tourist season.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-655 by Mr Jack McConnell on 6 September 1999, whether it will detail the (a) capital and revenue expenditure in each year since 1996-97, (b) estimated outturn in capital and revenue expenditure in 2001-02, and (c) budgeted expenditure in 2002-03, on roads and transportation by each local authority, in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.

Peter Peacock: The information requested on roads and transportation in relation to:

  (i) capital expenditure in each year since 1996-97 and estimated outturn in capital expenditure in 2001-02, shown in both cash and real terms, due to the length of the information, will be sent directly to the member and also placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20833).

  (ii) revenue expenditure in each year since 1996-97 is given in Ratings Review Actuals of Income and Expenditure published by CIPFA. Copies for the five years from 1996-97 to 2000-01 are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 7544,7545, 7548, 14654 and 19781).

  (iii) budgeted revenue expenditure for 2001-02 is given in Ratings Review Estimates of Income and Expenditure published by CIPFA. A copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 17055).

  (iv) figures for outturn expenditure for 2001-02 and budgeted expenditure for 2002-03 are not yet available.

  (v) The revenue expenditure figures given in the Ratings Review Actuals of Income and Expenditure are in cash terms only. These may be converted to real terms using the GDP deflators which will also be sent to the member and placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24010 by Lewis Macdonald on 3 April 2002, whether the guidance issued by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions indicates whether it is allowable to aggregate roads projects on a single corridor, such as the A75, to lift the value of the combined schemes above the threshold at which they would all become eligible for Trans-European Network (TEN) funding.

Lewis Macdonald: Advice from the European Commission indicates that a single application covering multiple schemes on the same TENs corridor would be possible in principle, although in practice it may be less likely to attract support due to it's greater complexity and potential for delay. In addition, the constraints on resources estimated to be available in the next TENs funding round, and the Commission's stated preference for non-road based projects limits the likelihood of any such bid being successful.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans to introduce national motorways, trunk and ring road tolls in England and Wales as published by the UK Minister for Transport, Local Government and the Regions will be extended to Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: No. The legislative framework which applies in Scotland is quite different from that in England and Wales.

Sexual Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next stage in developing its sexual health strategy will be complete.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive is carrying out further preliminary work on the development of a sexual health strategy. No date has yet been set for completion.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24178 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, what the identified problems in the North Ayr Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) were which required the improvement of the audit systems.

Ms Margaret Curran: The identified problem relates to the Youth Information and Resource Project funded by North Ayr SIP. An audit investigation established that there was not a proper division of financial responsibilities and that there was also a lack of adequate financial supervision. However, the introduction of a dedicated senior finance officer who will administer the partnerships finances and the implementation of a series of improved financial procedures satisfied the Executive that the restriction referred to in S1W-24178 should be lifted.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24178 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, why payments to the Craigmillar Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) were withheld and when the investigation will be complete.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive withheld SIP Fund grant from the City of Edinburgh Council (CEC) as grant recipient for the Craigmillar SIP. The grant was withheld pending further investigation by CEC into the relationship between EU funding and the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund.

  A judicial review has now been raised in connection with this matter. It is not possible to give a timescale for resolution of the relevant issues.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24178 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, which financial year does the £392,062 payment to various social inclusion partnerships refer to and whether any of the projects listed here are also referred to in the previous section for which payments totalling £366,610 were released.

Ms Margaret Curran: The sum of £392,062 relates to financial year 2000-01, whereas the sum of £366,610 was referring to costs within financial year 1999-2000.

  As per the previous answer, S1W-24178, both figures relate to expenditure claimed by Glasgow City Council in their role as accountable body or administrator of social inclusion partnership (SIP) Fund payments to projects supported by the SIPs. The amounts claimed represent administration costs of up to 2.5% of each of the 13 Glasgow SIP allocations in any one year, which the council has incurred in respect of all SIP projects in these SIPs.

  The council as accountable body is eligible to claim such costs under the terms and conditions of the SIP Fund (latest version 1 April 2002).

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-24174, S1W-24175 and S1W-24176 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, how many requests to inspect the registers of interest for each social inclusion partnership have been made by Communities Scotland or any body which previously had such a power.

Ms Margaret Curran: The requirement to hold a central register of interest only became effective from 1 April 2002, following the revision of the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund Terms and Conditions. As yet therefore, there have been no such requests to inspect the registers over the period to date.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24174 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether it intends to collect and publish information on which members of each social inclusion partnership board have interests that would be declarable if serving as members of a local authority.

Ms Margaret Curran: The revised terms and conditions of grant for social inclusion partnership (SIP) funding, applicable from 1 April 2002, include a new requirement on grant recipients to ensure that all members of partnerships and their sub-groups declare any relevant interests that they have, and that these interests are recorded in a register.

  As such, there are no plans for the Executive centrally to collect and publish information on which members of social inclusion partnership boards have interests that would be declarable if serving as members of local authorities. Local authorities as grant recipient should keep a central register of these interests, which must be made available for inspection by Communities Scotland, all those involved in the SIP process, and members of the public on request.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-24175 and S1W-24176 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether it will make public the registers of interest for social inclusion partnership (SIP) board members.

Ms Margaret Curran: The revised Terms and Conditions of grant for social inclusion partnership funding require registers of interest to be available to the public. Applicable from 1 April 2002, they strengthen and augment the previous guidance by including a new requirement on local authorities as grant recipients to ensure that all members of partnerships and their sub-groups declare any relevant interests that they have and that these interests are recorded in a register. The local authority, as grant recipient will keep a central register of these interests, which must be made available for inspection by Communities Scotland, all those involved in the SIP process, and members of the public on request.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24175 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether members of social inclusion partnership boards are obliged to notify the appropriate local authority of any interests or conflicts of interests and, if so, what the legislation governing such an obligation is.

Ms Margaret Curran: Under the standard Terms and Conditions of Grant for the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund (1 April 2002) local authorities as grant recipients are obliged to ensure that all members of partnerships and their sub-groups declare any relevant interests.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-24174, S1W-24175 and S1W-24176 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether the registrable interests for social inclusion partnership board members are similar to those for elected members of local authorities or those who serve on non-departmental public bodies.

Ms Margaret Curran: The principles behind the registration of interests for social inclusion partnership (SIP) board members are broadly similar to those for councillors and non-departmental public bodies. Financial guidance is available to accompany the terms and conditions, which provides a fuller indication of the types of circumstances in which interests should be declared. The SIP fund standard terms and conditions (1 April 2002) require that grant recipients maintain a central register of such interests.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24178 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether any of the cases involving the withholding or recovery of payments to social inclusion partnerships occurred prior to May 1999.

Ms Margaret Curran: Social inclusion partnerships only became effective as of April 1999. There are no cases involving the withholding or recovery of payments to social inclusion partnerships prior to May 1999.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24178 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, whether it intends to carry out any investigations into the circumstances surrounding any of the cases involving the withholding or recovery of payments to social inclusion partnerships.

Ms Margaret Curran: We have put in place necessary arrangements with Audit Scotland in relation to external audit certification of grant claims, as well as detailed procedures which local authorities as grant recipients are required to follow to ensure proper financial procedures are in place.

  When a case is drawn to the attention of Communities Scotland, which warrants concern, a restriction is put in place on the grant recipient pending a proper investigation. The onus is on the local authority as grant recipient to carry out that investigation.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-24177 by Ms Margaret Curran on 2 April 2002, how it ensures that social inclusion partnership (SIP) boards make funding allocation decisions in the public interest and what sanctions are available for use against board members who fail to make such decisions in the public interest.

Ms Margaret Curran: As stated in the response to S1W-24177, SIP boards are responsible for making funding allocation decisions, and for ensuring that these decisions are made in the public interest and not in the interests of any one individual. Communities Scotland has a monitoring role in relation to SIPs through the annual reporting and appraisal mechanisms. In the course of these annual appraisals, any matters of concern to Communities Scotland, whether they relate to funding or any other aspect of SIP activity, are raised with SIP boards.

  Beyond that, various responsibilities are placed on the local authority as grant recipient in relation to SIP funding decisions. General guidance issued to local authorities as grant recipients under the new terms and conditions for SIP fund grant applicable from April 2002 state that:

  Activity receiving SIP funding must be free of any political bias and must not involve political campaigning;

  It is important that all decisions about the use of SIP grant are made in the public interest and not in the interests of any one individual or group of individuals, and

  Grant recipients should ensure that all members of partnerships and their sub groups declare any relevant personal interests they have and that these interests are recorded in a central register. The grant recipient should keep a central register of these interests, which must be made available for inspection by Communities Scotland, grant recipients and members of the public on request.

  On sanctions, in general terms Communities Scotland may reduce, suspend or withhold payment of grant, or require all or part of the grant to be repaid if it appears that an activity, or any part of it, has not been undertaken in accordance with these terms and conditions or for the purposes intended or with any other conditions Communities Scotland impose at the time the grant offer is made.

  At SIP level, however, it would be for the SIP board to implement their own sanctions against board members should they feel that these members were not making decisions in the public interest.

Teachers

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in ensuring that all students training to be teachers who require an induction year starting in August 2002 will be accommodated without affecting any teachers currently on temporary contracts.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive continue to work very closely with local authorities to meet the guarantee of a one-year training contract for all eligible probationary teachers. Considerable progress has been made.

  Sufficient funding is being made available to meet this guarantee. This, along with other steps being taken will minimise the impact on teachers currently on temporary contracts.

Tourism

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to develop links between the food and tourism industries.

Mike Watson: We have commissioned research work to look at the opportunities that exist in this area. This will determine the most effective way forward. We are also working closely with The National Food Grading Scheme to encourage greater uptake of local produce within the service sector.

Tourism

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of any drop in tourism numbers in areas where wind farms are prevalent, for example in Denmark and Wales.

Mike Watson: None, but VisitScotland is to undertake research later this year into visitors' perceptions of the effect of wind farms on tourism.

Voluntary Organisations

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the increase in National Insurance contributions, announced in the UK 2002 Budget, will have on voluntary organisations.

Iain Gray: Voluntary organisations will face the same 1% increase in employer National Insurance contributions as all other employers. But they will benefit from a range of budget measures, including the introduction of tax relief for gifts to charity of land or buildings, VAT relief for charity buildings including residential care homes, and changes to the rules for Gift Aid.

Young People

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the issue of young runaways.

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place in order to help to reduce the number of children who run away from home, find children who have already run away and assist them to either come home or support themselves.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive recognises that young people run away from home for a number of reasons, and it is important that agencies such as the police and social work, work together to assist young runaways. We are helping to fund Aberlour's pilot project, Running Other Choices, which aims to find effective ways of helping to prevent young people from running away. We have also set up a working group to develop national inter-agency guidance on prevention and support for runaways.

Young People

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what conclusions it has drawn from the Right Fit project, sponsored by Barnardo's and GlaxoSmithKline and how and when it plans to take action in respect of any such conclusions.

Malcolm Chisholm: I was very impressed by the projects to promote young people's health, funded through this partnership between Barnardo's and GlaxoSmithKline. I would like to congratulate the two organisations and the young people involved on their sterling achievements. The Executive will be discussing with Barnardo's how best to ensure dissemination of the important lessons for practice to the NHS, local authorities and their partner agencies.